WAUWATOSA, Wis. (WLCSports.com) – Wisconsin Lutheran College pushed conference-leading Aurora to the limit on Wednesday, but a late second-half goal lifted the Spartans to a 3-2 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference victory over the Warriors at Warriors Soccer Field.
The two goals for WLC (2-10-1, 1-6-1 NACC) marked its highest scoring output against AU (10-3-1, 7-2-0 NACC) since 2018.
Aurora struck quickly, grabbing the lead just 53 seconds into the match when Frankie Jimenez netted his eighth goal of the season off an assist from Carlos Viayra. Jimenez doubled the Spartans' advantage in the eighth minute, converting a pass from Omar Saldana for a 2-0 lead.
Wisconsin Lutheran answered in the 13th minute when junior
Rafael Galindo (Delavan, Wis.) scored an unassisted goal—his first of the year—to cut the deficit to 2-1 heading into halftime.
The Warriors found the equalizer in the 63rd minute. After AU goalkeeper Brett Miller turned away an initial shot from junior
Rolando Colin (Waukegan, Ill.), freshman
JC Vazquez-Aguilar (Milwaukee, Wis.) capitalized on the rebound to deposit his first goal of the season, knotting the contest at 2-2.
Aurora netted the game-winner in the 84th minute as Yandel Reyes scored off a feed from Walter Delapaz to seal the 3-2 decision.
The Spartans finished with a 10-8 edge in total shots, including a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal. AU also held a 7-4 margin in corner kicks.
Galindo and sophomore
Bogdan Tereshchenko (Green Bay, Wis.) paced WLC with two shots apiece, while Colin, Vazquez-Aguilar, senior
Andrew King (East Moline, Ill.), and freshman
Max Pollnow (Valparaiso, Ind.) each registered one shot. Freshman goalkeeper
Morgan Determan (Racine, Wis.) made two saves in 90 minutes between the posts for Wisconsin Lutheran.
Jimenez led all players with three shots (two on goal) for Aurora, while Reyes and Viayra added two shots each. Miller tallied one save over 90 minutes to earn the win for the Spartans.
The Warriors return to action on Saturday when they host Concordia Chicago (2-8-2, 1-6-1 NACC) for a 1 p.m. NACC matchup at Warriors Soccer Field.
